Breast and Cervical Cancer Bill Signed
WASHINGTON-President Clinton has signed the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2000 into law. The Act provides $990 million over 10 years to expand the treatment options for uninsured, low-income women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer in a nationwide program run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
WASHINGTONPresident Clinton has signed the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2000 into law. The Act provides $990 million over 10 years to expand the treatment options for uninsured, low-income women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer in a nationwide program run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The new law ends a situation that many physicians and patient advocates found incomprehensible. Prior to the new law, there was no federal program to treat women diagnosed through CDCs 10-year-old National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. The Act creates a new optional Medicaid eligibility category to cover such treatment. The measure sets a federal matching formula with a ceiling of 85% and a floor of 65%. The formula varies from state to state.
